Drink water, live longer? Study finds link between hydration and aging

By Rich Haridy
January 02, 2023

New research has found a correlation between blood biomarkers of hydration and aging

A fascinating study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests people who don't drink enough fluids could be at greater risk of chronic disease and are more likely to die at a younger age.

The new study was inspired by prior research from the same team of NIH scientists who investigated the effects of long-term water restriction on mouse health. That 2019 study found chronically depriving mice of sufficient hydration shortened their lifespan by about six months – the equivalent of 15 years of human life.

So this current research set out to explore whether optimal hydration levels in humans influence health and aging. To do this the team looked at data from an ongoing long-term heart health study that began in the late 1980s. The data comprised more than 15,000 participants, followed for an average of more than 25 years.

As a proxy measure of hydration the researchers looked at serum sodium levels in blood samples. In healthy people this has long been recognized as an effective way to measure how well hydrated a human body is, with normal serum sodium levels sitting between 135 and 146 mmol/l.

Serum sodium levels in the cohort were measured at several time periods over 25 years, alongside the tracking of 15 health markers used to assess biological aging. These markers included blood pressure, immune biomarkers, and blood sugar levels.

Overall, the research found a significant correlation between participants with serum sodium levels above 142 mmol/l and faster biological aging. More specifically, those participants with serum sodium levels above 142 mmol/l were up to 15% more likely to present as biologically older than their chronological age. This rate jumped to 50% in those with serum sodium levels above 144 mmol/l.

Looking at chronic disease, serum sodium levels above 142 mmol/l correlated with a 64% increased risk of chronic disease, including heart failure, diabetes and dementia. Those with the highest serum sodium levels (144.5-146 mmol/l) were 21% more likely to suffer premature death compared to those with the lowest serum sodium levels.

Of course, the big caveat here is correlation doesn't necessarily imply causation. And the researchers are cautious to note these findings cannot directly suggest chronic decreased hydration causes shortened lifespan. It's possible low levels of day-to-day hydration are simply a decent proxy for a healthy lifestyle, and those that stay well hydrated also happen to eat better and exercise more.

But the researchers do point out there is some laboratory evidence to suggest low levels of hydration can trigger signs of aging in animal and human cells. These studies show increased serum sodium can lead to the kinds of pro-inflammatory activity and DNA damage that has been linked with accelerated aging. So it's plausible to at least hypothesize chronic sub-optimal hydration contributes to age-related disease.

Co-author on the new study Natalia Dmitrieva said it's possible people with serum sodium levels above 142 mmol/l would benefit from increasing their fluid intake. Some estimates indicate around 50% of all people are not meeting their daily recommended fluid intake. So, according to Dmitrieva, if further study can validate this association between hydration and general health then this simple intervention could have a significant impact on global health.

“On the global level, this can have a big impact,” Dmitrieva explained. “Decreased body water content is the most common factor that increases serum sodium, which is why the results suggest that staying well hydrated may slow down the aging process and prevent or delay chronic disease.”

The new study was published the journal eBioMedicine.

Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Possible naked-eye comet will visit Earth for 1st time since Neanderthals in 2023

By Robert Lea 

SPACE.COM

The comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) could be bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye as it passes the sun and Earth at the end of the first month of 2023.

An image of the Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) taken by astrophotographer Hisayoshi Sato as seen in a still image from a NASA video. (Image credit: Hisayoshi Sato via NASA/JPL-Caltech)

At the start of 2023 Earth will be visited by a newly discovered comet that may just be bright enough to be spotted with the naked eye.

The comet, named C/2022 E3 (ZTF), is currently passing through the inner solar system. It will make its closest approach to the sun, or perihelion, on Jan. 12, and will then whip past Earth making its closest passage of our planet, its perigee, between Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.

If the comet continues to brighten as it currently is, it could be visible in dark skies with the naked eye. This is difficult to predict for comets, but even if C/2022 E3 (ZTF) does fade it should still be visible with binoculars or a telescope for a number of days around its close approach.

According to NASA(opens in new tab), observers in the Northern Hemisphere will be able to find the comet in the morning sky, as it moves in the direction of the northwest during January. C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will become visible for observers in the Southern Hemisphere in early February 2023.

Observers should look for C/2022 E3 (ZTF) when the moon is dim in the sky, with the new moon on Jan. 21 offering such an opportunity, weather permitting. According to the website Starlust(opens in new tab), the comet will be in the Camelopardalis constellation during its close approach.

If you’re hoping to observe C/2022 E3 (ZTF), our guides for the best telescopes and best binoculars are a great place to start. If you’re looking to snap photos of the night sky, check out our guide on how to photograph the moon, as well our best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.

According to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the comet has a period of around 50,000 years. This means that prior to it coming to within around 100 million miles (160 million kilometers) of the sun on Jan. 12 and 26 million miles (42 million kilometers) of Earth on Feb. 2, the last time it came so close was during the Upper Paleolithic period on Earth.

That means the last humans that could have spotted C/2022 E3 (ZTF) were early homo sapiens alive during the last glacial period or "ice age." So, too, could some say of the last Neanderthals, as that species became extinct around 10,000 years after the last perihelion of C/2022 E3 (ZTF).

Of course, the Neanderthals and early humans wouldn't have known what C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was, and the comet was identified much more recently than the last ice age. The comet was spotted by the wide-field survey camera at the Zwicky Transient Facility in early March 2022.

Initially appearing to be an asteroid, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) which was inside the orbit of Jupiter at the time, soon began to brighten as comets do. At the time of its discovery, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) had a magnitude of 17.3, brightening to a magnitude 10 in November, and expected to eventually reach magnitude 6.

Current images of C/2022 E3 (ZTF) show its coma, a surrounding halo of gas and dust, glowing with a greenish hue and a long but faint cometary tail extending from its main body.

Opinion: 10 Things We Can Learn From the Downfall of Andrew Tate

JEF ROUNER JANUARY 2, 2023 

Pictured: a very silly man who is not a good person Screencap from Twitter

Andrew Tate is a former kickboxer turned raging misogynistic podcaster who built a name for himself as an alpha male guru. His blatant bigotry got him booted from most social media platforms, but he was let back onto Twitter following Elon Musk’s purchase of the company. Last week, Tate decided it would be fun to start publicly harassing teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg by telling her about his many cars. She told him to email her details at smalldickenergy@getalife.com. Her insult is now one of the most popular tweets of all time.

Tate then filmed a ridiculous clapback video. Immediately following that, he and his brother were arrested by Romanian police for human trafficking, though Romanian police deny the two incidences were related. Tate has joked in the past about moving countries to escape rape charges.

Many young men look up to Tate as a model for masculinity. He is, but only in the sense that he is a good example of everything not to do. For those young men, here are ten lessons that you should take away from this.

Harassing Teenage Girls Rarely Has Good Consequences

Tate is 36-year-old man who randomly picked a fight with a teenage girl who probably didn’t even know he existed. No matter how much you hate climate activists, that is just pointless bullying. It only made Tate look like an insecure craven. Not the least because it took him hours to launch a half-hearted rebuttal. Speaking of which…

Learn to Take the L

When the person insulting you gets 2 million likes, you lost. Christ and St. Nicholas combined aren’t going to raise you from the dead after that. Tate could have simply walked away knowing he’d been beaten, but he couldn’t deal with that.

Guys Who Joke About Rape Aren’t Joking

There has been a lot of whining about cancel culture and the alleged censorship of people over jokes. Rape jokes are usually brought up as case in point of what you “can’t say” anymore. To be clear, you can absolutely say rape jokes, but Tate is another example of how the people who do often aren’t really joking. That’s one of the reasons he is going to jail.

Your Car Obsession and Hatred of Climate Change Activism are Both About Your Insecurity

I cannot stress enough how creepy Tate tweeting at Thunberg about his big engines and powerful emissions was. It’s a transparent sexual metaphor, probably related to how green behavior is considered unmanly. Everything about the whole interactions screams “middle aged dude worried about the virility of his semen and insisting a young woman validate it.” On that note…

No Man Who Needs That Many Props is a Badass

Tate is rarely seen without cigars, whiskey, cars, dark sunglasses, or surrounded by women who are obviously paid to be there. He desperately flexes into every camera pointed at him. In short, he is a man barely duct taped together with whatever masculine accessories he can find. If your entire self-image is reliant on more doodads than Batman’s utility belt, it might mean there’s not much at the core

People Who Keep Getting Kicked Off Social Media Probably Aren’t Good

It’s a popular right-wing fantasy that social media companies are run by nanny-state leftists who cruelly silence conservatives at the merest hint of offense. This has never been true. Most of the people who get booted from multiple platforms are harassers, misinformation peddlers, and outright Nazis. Repeatedly violating terms of service and basic human decency is not a badge of honor. It’s indicative of poor impulse control and a venomous mindset.

Saying Women That Beat You Have Dicks is Very Revealing

In his painfully bad clapback video and associated tweet, Tate said Thunberg had admitted to having a small penis in her original response. So, to recap: the master alpha male responded to being humiliated by immediately trying to frame a woman as a man (yes, women can have penises, but not in Tate’s worldview). He soothed his wounded masculinity by trying to make Thunberg more masculine since it’s less embarrassing to get your ass handed to you by a man. It’s the rhetorical equivalent of denying a strike out by claiming innumerable foul tips, and I remain baffled why anyone this weak makes other men feel strong.

Don’t Rape People or Traffic Humans

Seriously. I not-did both of those things today and it was super easy. I plan on not doing them again tomorrow.

Don’t Make Annoying People Your Whole Brand

Tate literally has nothing to contribute if he’s not responding to someone else. He crafts no new thought and has nothing but regurgitated patriarchy to offer his followers. It’s a life entirely defined by how uncomfortable he makes others. This is not a healthy place to be in. It’s a defining characteristic of bad people who no one likes.

Stop Looking For Role Models in Violence

Not every MMA fighter or person who makes their living with performative violence is a bad person. Mick Foley consistently proves you can be both a hardcore legend and an embarrassingly good human being. That said, a lot of these dudes end up in trouble for rape, beating up their girlfriends, or both. Fighting doesn’t make you a monster, but a lot of monsters gravitate to fighting. People like Tate aren’t paragons of masculinity. They’re brutes who are good at forcing people to do what they want. You’re not actually supposed to look up to guys like that.

JEF ROUNER (not cis, he/him) is a contributing writer who covers politics, pop culture, social justice, video games, and online behavior. He is often a professional annoyance to the ignorant and hurtful.

CONTACT: Jef Rouner

China's super rich sweep up Singapore's prime real estate




Source：Pei-Yin Hsieh

Singapore’s subway stations are plastered with advertisements of Chinese businesses, and half of so-called family offices - private wealth management firms - are established by ultra-rich Chinese families. They snap up luxury cars and prime real estate. About 70 percent of the city state’s population get their news from the Chinese messaging app WeChat. How can Singapore contain Chinese influence and, hold on to its own values?

By yi-shan Chen, Peihua Lu
CommonWealth Magazine
2023-01-02
前往中文版 調整字體尺寸


In a stark contrast to Orchid Road with its high-end department stores, the Bugis shopping area offers Singapore’s trademark mix of cultures and religions – there is the Buddhist Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Sultan Mosque, Arab Street, and the Malay Heritage Center.

But over the past two years, things have gradually changed. Liang Seah Street, which used to be teeming with street vendors offering Singaporean snacks, is now lined with Chinese hot pot restaurants. And catching the eye at all large subway stations are advertisements by a grilled fish restaurant chain that is headquartered in China’s glitzy border town Shenzhen.

“In former times you only had Chinese restaurants in Chinatown, now they are virtually in every shopping area; even the KTV are all run by Chinese,” notes Linda Chern, executive director and head of residential services at the commercial real estate firm CBRE Singapore.

The Chinese factor has already evolved into an undercurrent with implications beyond Singapore’s cityscape, a development that the government does not dare disregard. This became most obvious from the speech that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered on Singapore’s National Day, August 21.
Forced to explain Singapore’s support for Ukraine

This year, Lee devoted large parts of his address in Chinese to explain to the Chinese community why Singapore blames Russia for the war in Ukraine, and why the city state stands on the same side as the United States. He made it a point to say that Singapore is not opposing Russian aggression because it is pro-U.S. As a small country, Singapore must take a firm stance "to maintain sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

“This was the first time that our leader had to explain his foreign policy to the people,” says political science Professor Joseph Liow, dean of College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Liow believes this should be taken as a warning sign.

He points out that Singapore condemns Russian aggression for other reasons than Washington, although the outcome is the same. The Chinese-speaking community in Singapore obtains news – be it the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sino-U.S. trade war or the war in Ukraine - mainly via the Chinese social media app WeChat. As a result, everything somehow becomes a conspiracy.

WeChat is widely used in the Singapore Chinese community 

(Source: Pei-Yin Hsieh)

Behind all this is the strained relationship between Washington and Beijing. The problem is that the rivalry between these two big powers has begun to affect Singapore.

The public gets news from both sides and has become very sensitive as a result. Therefore, Lee was forced to explain his foreign policy stance, something unheard of under his predecessors Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan Yew.

It was also the first time that Lee warned the public to be aware of fake or erroneous news on social media.

Liow, who has been doing research on behalf of the Singaporean military for many years, does not expect the situation to improve in the coming decade.
Who controls the narrative in the realm of Chinese language and culture

Singapore became aware of the aggressive nature of China’s “sharp power” some five years ago.

In 2015, China opened the China Cultural Centre in Singapore. In 2017, Singapore established the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, eager to retain control over the narrative in the realm of ethnic Chinese culture. This year, Lee emphasized that the ethnic Chinese in Singapore no longer need to return to China but should put down roots in Singapore.

After national day, Lee reassigned his close aide, Chinese-language Press Secretary Chen Hwai Liang to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Center. Chen’s job is to oversee the development of ethnic Chinese culture in Singapore, and to conduct systematic research and introductions to the local Chinese culture

The dramatic changes at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of National University of Singapore in recent years also highlight the Chinese factor in academia.

In 2017, Singapore announced the expulsion of Professor Huang Jing, a China-born United States citizen, and his wife. Huang, who served as director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, had allegedly used his position to “deliberately and covertly advance the agenda of a foreign country at Singapore’s expense.”

Sharp decline in Chinese officials training in Singapore

Yet, the school still displays a photograph commemorating the visit of Li Yuanchao, then head of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party, in 2011. Li came to Singapore at the time to celebrate the launch of the Master in Public Administration and Management (MPAM) program, which is taught in Chinese. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, 90 percent of program participants came from China, making the school an important training ground for career track officials from China, alongside the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Things have dramatically changed since. Associate Professor Lu Xi, a MPAM co-chair, points out that the Lee Kuang Yew School of Public Policy is the only graduate school the Chinese government still cooperates with. But over the past two years, high-ranking Chinese officials have not been able to get passports for overseas studies. Prospective Chinese students also worried that their careers would be at stake if they contracted COVID-19 while abroad. As a result, fewer than half of the program participants now come from China, and those who do come to Singapore are usually not from the top echelons of China’s bureaucracy.

Lu is currently working to rebrand the “Chinese Executive Education” program. “This is a program that has its foothold in Singapore, boasts the best connections with the local government and teaches highly efficient handling of government affairs,” says Lu. Starting with the new semester, the public administration course will cover supply chains, geopolitics, innovation in education, population aging, etc. to attract students who need to deal with the new international political and economic situation.

“The Singaporean government has its options when issuing visas,” explains Lee Huay Leng, editor-in-chief of the Chinese Media Group of Singapore Press Holdings. “We welcome family offices that bring investment and jobs, but we do not welcome the jetsetting crowd,” she says in describing public sentiment.
Ostentatious wealth disgusts Singaporeans

Even the poorest Singaporeans can afford to rent a place to live. In fact, Singaporeans are not dismayed because the poor are getting poorer but because the rich are getting richer.

“The first generation of Singaporeans who got rich kept a low profile. If these newcomers flaunt their wealth too much, resentment regarding the wealth gap might grow stronger in society,” warns Lee.

Lately, people in the city state get the signs of outrageous riches rubbed into their faces. “On Orchard Street you see luxury cars every day, Bentleys and Lamborghinis;, there weren’t so many before. Nowadays you won’t be able to buy a Rolex even if you have the money,” says Chern.


At the restaurant, the locals immediately know whether the guests are Chinese or locals from Singapore, as they only need to look at the beverages on the table. The locals prefer to drink red wine, whereas the Chinese like to drink spirits like Maotai or Brandy.

Due to the massive influx of Chinese money, prices for luxury villas have also gone through the roof, reaching historic highs.

Singapore has around 2,800 so-called Good Class Bungalow (GCB) plots, the top category of residential real estate. To qualify for good class bungalow status, the individual houses must not have more than two storeys and cover at most 35 percent of the respective land plot, which must be at least 1,400 square meters and located in selected low-density areas. With their large gardens, lush vegetation, and manicured lawns, these properties offer privacy in an otherwise densely populated city state, and utter exclusivity. For wealthy Chinese, owning one of these sought-after luxury homes is a status symbol.

As Chern explains, Chinese nationals who do not have Singaporean citizenship cannot buy a GCB, but they can rent them. “In the past the rent stood at around 60,000 to 80,000 Singapore dollars [per year] but now it has gotten out of hand, rents have risen to 280,000 Singapore dollars (about NT$6.37 million),” she says.

Singapore street view (Source: Pei-Yin Hsieh)

Property agent Richard Lin of Propnex Realty Pte. Ltd. was busy last year trying to find objects for Chinese newly rich, most barely 30 years old. These Chinese clients are young and have no qualms about flaunting their wealth. “They have obviously already moved into one (luxury villa), but they still tell me to find another one for them,” reveals Lin.

The Chinese typically pay for real estate in cash; they don’t need to borrow a single penny from the bank. Some remit the money from Hong Kong, while others cash out crypto currencies in Indonesia, and then remit the funds to Singapore.
Singapore on par with New York as most expensive city in the world

Over the past year, the housing market in Singapore took off, with both real estate prices and rents rising 20 to 30 percent. In areas that are popular with expats and foreign immigrants such as Central Area, Orchard Road, and Holland Village, the increases have been even higher. The Singaporean government has twice taken measures to cool the overheated property market, but the Chinese billionaires couldn’t care less.

“These people are waiting to obtain citizenship, to get an ID;, then they can buy GCB. In the coming five years, the price of GCB will continue to rise,” predicts Lin.

Last year, Singapore emerged as the most expensive city in the world due to soaring apartment rents and residential property prices, tying with New York City for the top spot, according to the Worldwide Cost of Living survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Given that Singapore boasts a high home ownership rate of almost 90 percent and only citizens are eligible to buy their government-subsidized rental flats, the average Singaporean is not affected by these developments in the high-end market. But people will notice the subtle changes in the city’s way of life.

This is a challenge Singapore’s fourth- generation leader will have to face.

Tunisia transport workers strike amid economic woes

By AFP
Published January 2, 2023

State-owned public transport firm Transtu said the strike froze 'the majority' of transport services across Tunis - Copyright AFP Daniel LEAL

Tram and bus workers in the Tunisian capital staged a strike over delays in salaries and the lack of an end-of-year bonus Monday, creating traffic jams across Tunis.

The strike is the latest in a string of similar actions as Tunisia grapples with an economic crisis that has led to frequent shortages of basic goods from petrol to cooking oil.

The North African nation is struggling with debts of more than 100 percent of gross domestic product and is in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a nearly $2 billion-dollar bailout.

Staff from state-owned public transport firm Transtu walked out and hundreds demonstrated outside the prime minister’s office, responding to a call by the transport section of the powerful UGTT trade union federation.

The strike froze “the majority” of transport services across the capital of almost three million people, Transtu said.

The transport ministry said the “wildcat strike paralysed transport across Greater Tunis… disrupting the functioning of public services and the interests of the citizen”.

It said Transtu salaries had been paid starting from December 29 and that the “real reason for the strikes is a different set of financial demands, in the form of an annual bonus” to more than 7,000 staff, worth more than $5 million.

It said the bonus was in the process of being paid, and that it was coordinating with “all concerned parties to avoid further disruptions”.

Transtu, which runs around 250 bus routes and 15 tram lines, was also shut by a strike during school holidays in November, a peak time for families using public transport.

The IMF has called for the implementation of a string of politically sensitive measures, including gradually removing subsidies on basic goods and the restructuring of public firms. These include Transtu as well as monopolies in water, energy and cereals.

The birthplace of the Arab Spring has also been mired in political divisions since President Kais Saied staged a dramatic power grab in July 2021.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/world/tunisia-transport-workers-strike-amid-economic-woes/article#ixzz7pJjIJ4Wc

Sweden’s biggest wolf hunt in modern times will be ‘disastrous’ for species: Experts

Over the next month, 75 out of 460 wolves will be killed as the government attempts to reduce the population

03.01.2023
LONDON

Sweden launched the biggest wolf slaughter in modern times on Monday as nature agencies warned that it could severely harm the population.

The government has given permission to hunters to kill 75 out of the 460 wolves currently roaming the country in an attempt to reduce their numbers, but wildlife organizations argue that Sweden’s wolf population is relatively low compared to Italy, for instance, where there are more than 3,000.

Wildlife activists warn that the decision by the Swedish government could further endanger the species and encourage other European countries to follow suit.

Gunnar Gloersen, game manager at the Swedish Hunters’ Association, said that hunting is “absolutely necessary to slow down the growth of wolves,” The Guardian newspaper reported.

“The wolf pack is the largest we’ve had in modern times,” he noted.

But wildlife organizations say that this violates the Council of Europe’s Bern Convention and they have tried unsuccessfully to appeal the decision, according to the newspaper.

Daniel Ekblom from the Wildlife Management Group of the Nature Conservation Association in Gävleborg told The Guardian that the government does not pay much notice to their findings on endangering the species.

“You get discouraged. There is report after report that the wolf tribe is in big trouble, but (the government doesn’t) take it seriously.”

Marie Stegard, president of the anti-hunting group Jaktkritikerna, told the newspaper that “wolves as apex predators in the food chain are a prerequisite for biodiversity.”

She argued that killing a quarter of the population through hunting will have negative consequences for animals and nature.

This is disastrous for the entire ecosystem, she said, adding the existence of wolves contributes to richer animal and plant life.

“Human survival depends on healthy ecosystems,” Stegard added.

Swedish Minister of Rural Affairs Anna-Caren Satherberg told local public broadcaster SVT that the wolf population is growing every year and “with this cull, we want to make sure we can meet the target set by parliament.”

The State Environmental Protection Agency had warned in the past that the wolf population must not drop below 300 to avoid inbreeding.

But the Swedish parliament is in favor of lowering the wolf inhabitants to 170, which is the lowest it can go to meet requirements of the European Union’s Habitats and Species Directive.

However, Benny Gäfwert, a predator expert with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), told the broadcaster that parliament’s figure of 170 was “not based on scientific fact.”

He warned that “unforeseen things can happen in wild populations, and a level of 170 is way too low.”

“We have a problem when it comes to wolf genetics, and the smaller the wolf population, the greater the impact of fluctuations in genetic status,” he added.

The Scandinavian Wolf is already listed as an endangered species and now this move by the Swedish government is believed to pose a further threat.

The country shares a wolf population with Norway along the border, where wolves are also considered critically endangered.

Norway is the only country in the world to set a cap, allowing only four to six cubs per year.

The Scandinavian country is allowing hunters to drastically reduce the wolf population every year.

AGRRESSOR'S UNPROVOKED ATTACK

Israeli Strikes Put Damascus Airport Out of Service, Kill 2: State Media

Israel strikes Damascus. Photo: AFP

 JANUARY 1, 2023
1 MINUTE READ
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The Israeli army carried out a missile strike Monday that put Damascus International Airport out of service and killed two soldiers, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported, quoting a military source.

At around 2:00 am (23:00 GMT), Israel carried out an attack with “barrages of missiles, targeting Damascus International Airport and its surroundings,” the military source told SANA.

The attack caused “the death of two soldiers… putting Damascus International Airport out of service,” the source said.

Monday’s strikes hit “positions for Hezbollah and pro-Iranian groups inside the airport and its surroundings, including a weapons warehouse,” the head of Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdul Rahman, told AFP.

Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against its neighbor, targeting government troops as well as allied Iran-backed forces and fighters from Lebanon’s Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Israel rarely comments on reports of its attacks, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow its archfoe Iran to gain a foothold in Syria.

The last time the airport was out of service was in June — also after Israeli air strikes.

Monday’s air strike in Syria comes after the war-racked country experienced its lowest yearly death toll since the conflict started over a decade ago.

At least 3,825 people died in Syria’s war in 2022, according figures compiled by Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – down from the previous year’s 3,882.

Among those killed in 2022 were 1,627 civilians, including 321 children, according to the Observatory, which relies on a wide network of sources on the ground in Syria.

After years of deadly fighting and bombardments following the brutal suppression of 2011 anti-government protests, the conflict has largely abated in the last three years.

Sporadic fighting at times breaks out and jihadist attacks continue, mainly in the east of the country.

Facebook Whistleblower: social media 'asleep at the wheel'

Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, says there are ways social media companies can improve user safety protocols.

Jan. 1, 2023, 
By Isabelle Schmeler
Meet the Press.

NBC News

After turning over thousands of internal documents and testifying before Congress in 2021, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen sent shockwaves through Washington amidst ongoing debates surrounding Facebook and other social media companies’ role in spreading misinformation, particularly amidst the 2020 election.

Haugen worked as Facebook’s lead Product Manager on the Civic Misinformation team initially intending to contribute to the company’s leading efforts to improve user safety protocols.

In an interview with NBC News' Meet the Press, Haugen said she was optimistic when first hired to contribute to one of the industry's leading civic responsibility units, until it dissolved after the 2020 election.

"If you want to have successful change in the enterprise, you have to appoint a vanguard. You have to have executives say, ‘these people are the future, they’re going to lead us in the right direction.’ And when Facebook dissolved Civic Integrity, I saw that they weren’t willing to make that commitment anymore."

A spokesperson for Meta disputed Haugen's version of events and said that the Civic Integrity team wasn't disbanded, but rather was "integrated into a larger Central Integrity team."

Haugen referenced her own personal experience with misinformation seeing a friend become more and more radicalized through the algorithmic patterns presented to users, citing the company's prioritization of profit over user safety.

“Facebook is scared that if we actually had transparency, if we actually had accountability, they would not be a company with 35% profit margins. They’d be a company with 15% profit margins," Haugen said, "There was a whole Macedonian misinformation factory going on. There was a cottage industry of these little blogs that would make these fake news stories, and Facebook was asleep at the wheel."

Haugen suggested that one of the simplest misinformation interventions that doesn’t threaten free speech rights is to insert deeper internationality behind which posts are and are not shared. Haugen says Facebook declined to make that slight ramification because it decreases the amount of content spread, ultimately decreasing profits.

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TRANSCRIPTSMeet the Press - January 1, 2023

“The way to think about safety on social media platforms is there’s lots of very small choices where you make them and you lose .1 or .2 percent of profit,” Haugen said, “The problem is these industries are so sensitive to growth, that when they don’t grow at the level the market expects their stock price crashes. And so they’re afraid to take even these small actions because they will decrease the profitability of the company.”

When asked about President of Global Affairs at Facebook, Nick Clegg’s “it takes two to tango” proposal, an idea he has pushed that users have the ability to choose the content they want to see, Haugen referenced studies that observed algorithmic patterns that steered users toward more extremist content.

“There are many forces in society. But our information environment does have consequences,” Haugen said, “When it comes to social media, you can spread lies, and they’re invisible. And Facebook has resisted even minimal efforts at transparency that might allow us to reconverge on a single information environment.”

Haugen has voiced support for the Platform Accountability and Transparency (PATA) Act, a bipartisan bill that would require social media companies to provide data to the public. Over 30 social media reform bills have been introduced this Congressional cycle, none have been passed into law.

“I’m a big proponent of transparency as the first step," Haugen said, "I think people aren’t aware of how far behind we are. Social media companies for 20 years, and remember, there were social media companies before Facebook, have all been very intentional."

King Charles’s plans for a full-blown coronation during a cost of living crisis are out of touch and hypocritical

Omid Scobie
·Royal Executive Editor
Thu, 29 December 2022 

King Charles, pictured while attending the Christmas Day service at Sandringham Church on December 25, has grand plans for his 2023 coronation. (Getty Images)

When King Charles III read his first ever Christmas message to the nation, the new monarch made sure to acknowledge an issue currently front of mind for most people in the UK — the cost of living crisis.

Speaking of the “great anxiety and hardship” felt by those struggling to “pay their bills and keep their families fed and warm” this winter, Charles’ holiday season broadcast included footage from the country’s food banks and meal services supporting individuals and families in need.

It was a topic he couldn’t have ignored. With the UK facing its longest recession since records began — all against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine — 2023 is set to be one of the country’s most challenging years in modern history.

But it seemed rather hypocritical for the King to express sympathy and concern for difficulties faced by the nation he serves when, just a week prior to recording his message at Windsor Castle, he had quietly made a dramatic u-turn on plans for “cut-price” coronation celebrations.

Back in September, Palace sources confirmed that Charles wanted a ceremony that would not only reflect his vision for a more agile and modern monarchy, but also a “less expensive” one in light of the country's ongoing economic struggles.

At the time, many praised the head of state for rejecting the opportunity to drain limited resources from the government. Charles, we were told, had expressed a wish that his 6 May coronation should be considered “good value” by the British taxpayers helping fund it.

Read more: The palace DID brief against Harry and Meghan - what's the point in denying something so obvious?

But despite a coronation committee sallying forth with plans, three months later it has been decided by the King and ministers to ditch the leaner celebrations and go full fat.

A larger scale event, it was decided, will be a great “advertisement” for the UK and a chance to showcase the “very best” of the country on the world stage, according to sources. (And, I would imagine, much-needed PR after the failure of Brexit and our revolving door of leaders.)

Prime minister Rishi Sunak described the bigger coronation as a “unique moment for the country”. It was added that all involved, from the relevant government departments to the King himself, were in “lockstep in their determination to deliver” a spectacle to remember.

The newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II waves to the crowd from the balcony at Buckingham Palace after her coronation on 2 June 1953. (Getty Images)

When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, it cost the nation £1.57m — today’s equivalent of £51m ($61m). For Charles, using the cost of security at events such as previous royal weddings as a benchmark, I calculate the figure could be inching closer to £100m ($120m) when factoring in the sophisticated operation it will require.

Despite the estimated increased cost, Charles’ ceremony will be shorter and last between one and two hours (as opposed to his mother’s three-hour event) with rituals considered outdated or cumbersome cut to allow for the reduced run time. There are also expected to be far fewer attendees at the 2023 coronation: 2,000 compared to 8,000 at the late Queen’s.



The big coronation spend comes less than a year after the nation spent millions on the Queen’s four-day Platinum Jubilee, and just 42 days before another show of royal pomp and circumstance for the monarch's annual birthday parade, Trooping the Colour – Charles's first – in June.

The most senior Royal Family members gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to watch the RAF flypast in June - one of many Platinum Jubilee events. (Getty Images)

Projections displayed on the front of Buckingham Palace as part of the Platinum Jubilee events show what a grand, and expensive, event it was. (Getty Images)

Sure, London’s hospitality and tourism businesses will no doubt benefit from the day King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort are crowned, but it’s unlikely that many outside of the capital will feel the same boost.

“Working people are struggling to pay rent and mortgages and feed their kids. It is utterly crass for Charles to demand a coronation that will be every bit as extravagant as the last one,” says Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic. “The coronation isn’t necessary, he is already King. This is all about promoting the monarchy and satisfying his ego.”

Read more: When it comes to race the British monarchy has proven once again how toxic it is

Or, in other words, “Let them eat cake”, as Queen Marie Antoinette famously uttered after being told the peasants had no bread to eat. Because, an alarmingly high number of those same teachers, health and social care professionals Charles praised in his Christmas speech are currently queueing up at food banks due to lack of pay rises and government support. And many of those charities the King credited for helping those struggling with food and heating bills are, right this moment, facing collapse due to overwhelming demand.

While there is certainly a justifiable argument for a coronation of sorts – after all, this is a historic occasion – ramping up the cost and size of the spectacle while the UK faces unprecedented pressures on public spending appears extremely out of touch. It is a decision that fails to position King Charles as a man that truly understands the people he has spent the first four months of his reign meeting and connecting with — and one I think he may end up living to regret.

UN General Assembly refers Israeli occupation to International Court of Justice

• 31 Dec 2022

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour speaks during a meeting at United Nations headquarters. File / AP

The UN General Assembly on Friday asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to consider consequences for Israel over its occupation of Palestinian territories, a day after the Jewish state's right-wing government took over.

The General Assembly voted 87-26 with 53 abstentions on the resolution, with Western nations split but virtually unanimous support in the Islamic world and backing from Russia and China.

The resolution calls on the UN court in The Hague to determine the "legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination" as well as of its measures "aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status" of the holy city of Jerusalem.

The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said the vote sent a signal to the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over its efforts to "accelerate colonial and racist policies" and hailed nations that were "undeterred by threats and pressure."

"We trust that regardless of your vote today, if you believe in international law and peace, you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice when delivered," Mansour said.

Speaking ahead of the vote, the Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan, called the resolution "a moral stain on the UN." "No international body can decide that the Jewish people are occupiers in their own homeland," Erdan said.

"Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicised UN is completely illegitimate," he said.

The resolution also demands that Israel cease settlements, but General Assembly votes have no legal force — unlike those in the Security Council, where Israel ally US wields veto power.

The United States, Britain and Germany opposed the resolution, while France abstained.

"We do not feel that a referral to the International Court of Justice is helpful in bringing the parties back to dialogue," British diplomat Thomas Phipps said.

"It is also the position of the UK that it is inappropriate without the consent of both parties to ask the court to give an advisory opinion in what is essentially a bilateral dispute."

Among Western nations that backed the resolution was Portugal, whose representative acknowledged the "risk of over-judicialising international relations" but said the world court "underpins the international rules-based order which we seek to preserve."

The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top UN court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, though the ICJ has no power to enforce them.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. Peace talks broke down in 2014.

"The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.

The Palestinians have limited rule in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in a move not recognised internationally. Its settlements in those territories are deemed illegal by most countries, a view Israel disputes citing Biblical and historical ties to the land, as well as security.

Separately, at least 35 Palestinians were injured by Israeli soldiers during clashes in downtown the northern West Bank city of Nablus, authorities said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that two of the wounded were shot by live bullets, three by rubber-coated metal bullets, and 25 suffered respiratory damage after inhaling teargas fired by the Israeli soldiers to disperse Palestinians who were throwing stones at them, reported Xinhua news agency.

Agencies

Arabs and Palestinians Welcome UN Resolution, Israelis Upset

Sunday, 1 January, 2023 -

Mahmoud Abbas (AFP) - Benjamin Netanyahu (AP)
Tel Aviv - Nazir Magally

Political sources in Tel Aviv have unveiled a plan to respond to the United Nations General Assembly resolution to ask for a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The resolution was highly welcomed by the Arab countries and celebrated by Palestinians, except for Hamas which considered it “a paper tiger”.

An Israeli official noted that his country would resist the resolution and fight against its implementation.

"No international body can decide that the Jewish people are occupiers in their own homeland. Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized UN is completely illegitimate," Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said in a statement ahead of the vote.

The General Assembly on Friday approved the resolution asking for the ICJ to deliver its opinion on the Israeli occupation in Palestine, including Jerusalem.

Political sources in Tel Aviv revealed that Israel worked hard during the past 50 days to abort this resolution or reduce the number of countries in favor of the resolution.

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid exerted efforts in 60 countries and succeeded in reducing the votes in-favor of the resolution from 98 to 87.

The resolution was passed with 87 votes in favor to 26 against, with 53 abstentions.

The General Assembly asked the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s “occupation, settlement, and annexation, “including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem.”

The resolution also asks the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the United Nations from this status.

The secretariat general of the Arab League (AL) welcomed the resolution, knowing that all of the Arab states voted in favor of it.

In a statement, Assistant Secretary-General for Palestinian and Arab Territories Affairs at the AL Dr. Saeed Abu-Ali said that the UN-sponsored resolution has constituted an important station and platform to confront the Israeli oppression against Palestinians through legal tracks.

He said that the resolution has reflected the will of the international community by scoring a victory for the principles of international law and legitimacy resolutions, including empowering the legal mechanisms to confront the Israeli practices and plots.

"The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.

For his part, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that “the resolution will add to the long list of international resolutions concerning Palestine, which have never tuned into a practical step to put pressure on the occupying regime even once.”

“As long as the US acts as a partner of the occupying regime and covers up Israeli crimes, all such decisions will remain on paper,” he added.

Although this decision takes time to become tangible, Israeli diplomacy is preparing to face it with a series of steps on the international level. There are some suggestions of withdrawing from the UN or expelling the UN representative from the region controlled by Israel.